Old Hickory-- American mora?

DaleW

DaleW

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
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I picked up an Old Hickory 7" butcher knife in a thrift store for $3 today. I was surprised to see how cheap they are new -- $6 for a new knife with a 7" blade. I think they must be the US equivalent of a mora.

There are 14" ones you can get for $14. I wonder how they would work as a golok/machete. The 6" looks like it would be the best balanced of the bunch.
 
DaleW said:
There are 14" ones you can get for $14. I wonder how they would work as a golok/machete.
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I was looking at Smoky Mountain Knife Works the other day, noticed the big ones, and instantly thought "machete!"

SMKW also had seconds of the smaller knives for next to nothing.
 
DaleW said:
There are 14" ones you can get for $14. I wonder how they would work as a golok/machete.
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I looked into this once and did some snooping around the forums. Turns out the large Old Hickory butcher's knives aren't very good as a golok/machete. Several reports of massively damaged blades under such conditions. My guess is that the edges are ground too thin and the steel too hard/brittle.

I think some of those Russell/Green River knives compare better with Moras. Many patterns are shared with Old Hickory's line, with a couple more heavier duty models Old hickory doesn't make.
 
Well first off I would just like to say hi as I believe this may be my first post over in this section. The newer old hickory knives have much thinner blades than the older ones, and when I Rockwell tested them a year back the blades were in the 50-58 range so not too too hard. They do make decent outdoor knives. I often carry a 6" inch boning knife or 6" butcher made by them. When chopping with the larger ones it is easy to cause a good sized dent in the blade off to one side at the edge. Old hickory knives are made to cut though so that is no big surprise. The skinner is the thickest old hickory i have owned out of the newer ones but at around 1/8 of an inch. A little sanding, steel wool, and oil of you choice and the handle is good to go. I feel that for the few extra $$ they cost Dexter Russell knives are a bit better quality. Dexter Russel's are Full flat ground and cut wood and meat very well. Joe
 
So, is it fair to sum up the foregoing posts by saying that Old Hickory knives really are something like the equivalent of an American Mora? Maybe the longer ones bend if chopped heavily into wood--but nobody expects a Mora to do better, no? (In fact, your standard Mora is just too small for that.)

Hard to beat the price--I see them offered on eBay routinely for something well under $20 for a lot of a handful of knives; trickiest thing is making a halfway decent sheath to render them carryable, without tripling the cost of the knife.

I'd be interested in a little more comparison, if anyone has any to make, between Russell/Dexter/Green River and Old Hickory knives. With the knives I've looked at, the blade thicknesses appear roughly comparable. If some of the Green River knives are thicker, which ones are they? Any other comparisons/contrasts?
 
Return of the JD, The Old hickory knives do run quite a bit thinner than the Russell blades for the most part. I do not have my Vernier calipers at the moment so the measurements i am about to give you are close and in Millimeters. I will start with the 6" full tang Russell beef skinner vs. the old hickory 6" beef skinner. The old hickory is approx 2mm thick at the tang, the russell is just over 3mm thick. The beef skinner is the thickest old hickory I own. Next I will go in to the butcher knives a 6" and 7" old hickory butcher both come in at about 1-1.5mm closer to 1mm. The 6" and 8" Russell butcher blades come in at about 2-2.5mm. The Russell knives are a little bit stiffer and the temper seems harder. The full tang Russell blades have 3 rivets instead of the just 2 in the Old Hickory knives. I feel the full flat grind makes Russell's better cutters than the old hickory. The bast few old hickory knives I have bought were all dull with the edges not fully ground, Russells have all come reasonably sharp. I still like the Old hickory's. The knives just described were all new production, the past 3 years.
As for sheaths they are not to hard to make with a little practice and imagination you can make very nice serviceable sheath. And looking at the knives that our fathers, grandfathers and the pioneers of this country used and carried in the outdoors, I would call them the American Moras. Joe
 
I get my old knives at Thrift stores...you need to ask since they don't display the knives out. Bought a Russel for a whole dollar, more than the usual fifty cents...so once in a while I splurge.
 
Generally speaking, the Old Hickory knives were intended to be kitchen cutlery. I've used them for years and yes, they will perform some outdoors chores. The carbon steel develops a really nice deep black patina, and it takes a wicked edge. Walmart used to sell a good selection of them from paring on up to the large butchers and cleavers. Used? I wouldn't pass them up. A good cheap knife that is easily replaced if lost or damaged.

Codger
 
Old Hickory knives are great steel!!!! 1095 carbon steel. One of the best IMHO.

I've modded a few skinners. They come in at 0.090" thick and are great for that nessmuk mod.

The butchers knives are ~0.050" thick. Still 1095, and good performers.

I did a bunch of mods of em.

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Hey guys, I want to do the Nessmuk mod on the skinner becsuse of this thread, is there any stores that carry them instead of ordering them?
 
Thanks Fiddleback, going to take your word since your the master of making Nessmuks!:thumbup:
 
Andy you do awesome work! i have gotten a few OH's to try and mod and play with . They can take a wicked edge, and slice like crazy.
 
I've appreciated the quality, economy, and simplicity of Old Hickory kitchen knives for many years, but I think the grind on most models is better suited to slicing than to chopping, unless you are chopping something pretty soft like banana trees or smaller vines. Long ago I bent the edge of a very similar knife when I tried to chop down a slender oak sapling. Recently I bought a good Old Hickory 7" (?) boning knife for a buck-fifty I think it was in a thrift shop I was prowling around in.
 
barny said:
Thanks Fiddleback, going to take your word since your the master of making Nessmuks!:thumbup:
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Well, I'm a master of nothing much really. With a little elbow grease and patience you can easily match my OH mods.:thumbup:
 
Fiddleback:

How did you get the slight recurve in the handle done? Did you take out a bit underneath, then cut the wood to have a palm swell?
 
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